Bit sticky loading! Mare owners please respond!

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oldie48

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All my geldings, bar one, have loaded without hesitation, the iffy loader used to run back at speed and that was quickly sorted with a controller halter. We had a connie mare who refused to load after being towed by a third person (obviously had had a bad journey) and I just waited for her to pluck up courage and walk on, it took a time but once on and taken for a nice journey we never had a problem again. Rose does load but she's sticky. She hadn't travelled backwards before and the first journey although I took it very carefully, she did move around quite a lot, however although she's now travelling very quietly she seems a little more reluctant to load and is planting before she gets to the ramp. She's a lovely but clever mare and I am very aware that my experience with mare's is limited. So how do you deal with mares? I just have a gut feeling that if I get into a confrontational situation with her, she'll just say no. She is not motivated by food and won't even take a food reward when she's loaded. Not a problem ATM but I don't want it to become one. She is great to lead and has lovely manners, not bargy at all and is generally a complete delight to handle and ride.
 
we have a similar rescue mare who arrived last year who just seems to shut down loading, theres no drama, she just shuts down. I tried a few approachs and the hard approach def didn't work at all. So now we literaly have to lift each hoof and move it forward, with someone pushing her bum, and inch her up the ramp.. once she has one hoof in the box floor she walks in. but we literally lift each lef seperately and shove her foreward! All done very slowly and with a reward for each inch she goes forward - she is getting better, and now we only have to lift the legs and push them forwad a few times and she walks on.
 
I don't currently own a mare but have had a few in the past and haven't found any difference loading them. Do you always load and go somewhere like a clinic or lesson? If so I would probably spend a morning loading and unloading, back to stable, do it again until there is no hesitation and maybe the following day load up and drive somewhere you can park and go for a short hack, or visit a friends yard where you can unload, have a chat a then load up. Basically just to take the pressure off a bit.
 
Totally take pressure off yourself.
Park box where you can access daily, forget about going anywhere for a little while
Before you ride, turn loading into the exercise you do 1st. Repeat a few times, treat only once on, I find a soggy pear works wonders.
One of mine took me nearly 3 hours the 1st time, within a few weeks she was loading pretty well.
However, to start with she wouldn't go for feed, you couldn't touch legs as would plant hard or stand up whip round and go, and def no crowding by people. Pressure and release, together with command to go on.
I've done the loading twice a day or more, then gone for a drive and back home, re loading again at home. Then progressing to friends yard, off box, walk round and home again.
Good luck in whatever method you use x
 
Key with mine is don't continuously pull, so walk up and if she stops she stops, don't pull, then ask her to walk on , if she shows any sign of forward movement reward it. If she doesn't relax a few seconds then ask again and I have to up the ask by spinning the end of the lead rope around. By rewarding any forward movement she walks on , on her own in a couple of minutes. It did take a lot of in hand and ground work to get to that stage. If I pull she just downs anchors and there's no way I can make her move.
 
I had this with a mare, she would not be moved. I took the issue away from the box, marked out a "box" on the arena with the fence and barrels and taught her to drive into it. She needed to learn that is was just easier to do my bidding, and also to learn to do the tight turn.

I "suggested" the direction with a halter/long rope and then "motivated" the rear end to move. She initially went every which way but the correct one, but learned that it was just easier to follow the feel on the rope and go on first motivation.

By only suggesting which way to go she did not feel strong armed when motivated to move. Entirely her choice. But, we did not go in until she guessed the right solution ;)

Once we were confident on the school the box was not a problem.
 
I have found I always have to be firm but fair with my mare! My boys don’t want to be told off, but she is more likely to get more stubborn if I raise my voice!

Personally I use a lunge line so I can hold pressure until she takes a step, but if she does decide to go backwards I don’t let go so she doesn’t ‘win’ and for safety of losing her!

If I am in a rush I think she senses it!!! So I always allow way to much time.

But she is also helped on a bit with a bucket of treats

She has been hit and miss in the past and previously people have tried to ‘help’ by pushing her on with a lunge line behind her but she needs to be asked not told. So me just applying pressure and waiting for her to agree works much better!
 
Mine started doing this. No bad journeys, but she doesn't like a wobbly floor, and as the yard is on a hill one end of the ramp is always in the air slightly. I now always put a brick under the free end, and she is much happier. We spent an hour doing the tap tap method, fed her a few times on the lorry and don't have a problem now.
 
With Chilli I use a rope halter and a lunge line to load. Once she's in swap for normal head collar and lead rope. She loads perfectly if someone else goes in first but alone with plant for a few minutes. Literally just keeping the pressure on with the halter and giving it up when she moves forwards and then eventually out of nowhere she will practically load herself sweet as anything and travel fine. Anything like lots of people trying to help or lunge lines around her bottom send her mad and rearing so it really is just allowing more time than we need and keeping that pressure and release.
 
all of mine have been tricky loaders to start with, Kira loads like a dream now but does occasionally have to give me a moment where she considers her options first - the key with her is not to tug at the headcollar but to wait for her to step forward.
Salty was a planter, as I haven't done a lot with her she's still a bit green about loading and will need some training for the new big lorry, though she's reliable with the little one now.

The fact she won't take a treat when she is loaded makes me think Rose might be a bit worried by the whole thing. Salty won't have a treat either (though she's usually treat-mad), and then she neighs quite a lot when we are travelling. I remember Kira being the same but she's much more relaxed now. I think plenty of practice when you don't need to actually go anywhere so no one is under pressure will be the key to sorting this.
 
All have been fine apart from one major tantrum. As a youngster she was literally carried in one day. I then spent a number of hours one day trying to get her in. All she wanted to do was plant then go backwards. So in a final attempt I made her go backwards all round the field. She got so pissed off going backwards that she welcomed the opportunity to go forwards onto the trailer!
 
i had my mare from 15 months and when i got a box of my own i used to feed her in it. i would use a lunge line on her headcollar so i could walk into the box and put the feed in while she was watching and then i went back to the ramp and gently asked her to go forward and we progressed slowly up the ramp. after a couple of times she went in easier and eventually i would put the rope over her neck and she would walk straight in to the feed while i closed the gates. patience was the key....
 
Our mare, randomly, will plant or will dodge out to the side. On some days you think you will have trouble she'll just walk on. There is NO pattern to it and no reason for the avoid. What does get her on is for her to see that someone has a lunge line to hand, this will go behind her if needed, but it never is, she spots it and walks on.. We had another mare would only walk on when she could see the unravelled end of the lunge line. The geldings we had were no bother, one you could unclip his headcollar and he'd self-load, but he did love going out.
 
A lot of bad loader hate people behind them they seem to think someone is going to smack, pull ropes behind or other forms of forcing them on the result of which is usually rearing or running back and away, Pressure and release from the front end is best without a lot of talking and food it is better still. Constantly chatting and cojoling makes the horse think they have something to worry about, The hardest thing in loading is keeping quiet. Mares are no more difficult than geldings a horse will either load or not regardless of gender
 
I had problem with my mare loading to come home. I used a pressure head collar. Used it twice. After that I put it on but did not use it and she just walked on. No longer need it she loads straight away, but keep it in the back of lorry just in case.
She is a tough little pony and I have had her 13 years and know her very well. I knew that the pressure headcollar would not freak her out I would not use it on a pony who was more sensitive!
 
My mare drags me to the trailer in piaffe (I kid you not she drags ME onto the trailer!) to standing by the ramp and questioning what I'm asking her to do! There is no rhyme or reason to it although it tends to be work related! I took her to The Big Mind Clipathon the other week and she was very disappointed when we got there, got her clipped and then tried to load her again. The look on her face was rather like she was say no 'No chance mate, get the tack out, get on and lets do something, I wont be cheated out of a journey just for this!!!' She tends to like to stay and absorb the atmosphere of places and be involved (I probably sound silly saying this but its how I feel and I know her well) before she is willing to come home.
 
I have always had mares. I love that once you finally bond with them, they really do let their barrier down with you and would do just about anything to please you!!
My girl came to me from a professional show jumping yard and she was used to being forcefully hammered onto the lorry and was out competing every weekend!! I don't tend to go out very often but I still don't want to go through 3 hours of a battle to go out even for just a pleasure ride! I loaded her every day. On my own with a Dooley head collar. Every evening she would have her dinner on the lorry. For the first week we spent ages just on the ramp. She loves her ears being tickled (strange I know) so once she got onto the ramp, I would just let her stand and she would have an ear scratch. she would totally relax and I believe that was the key to making her feel less anxious about the lorry all together. once we could walk up the ramp I gave her the bucket of feed and backed off. Gave her the time to eat in peace and stay relaxed. In about a month she was walking up the ramp and into the lorry without any hesitation at all!
I know that some of the anxiety was due to the fact she anticipated going to a tense competition atmosphere so we boxed up and went over to some of my granddads land on the farm and let her graze for about an hour and then came home. Then every journey after that we went somewhere fun!
She is now the traveling baby sitter and trots up the ramp! She can almost not contain herself when the travel boots come out now :D ALWAYS make them think its their idea... that way you have a happy mare and a happy mumma!! Best of Luck x
 
This saying is so very true - YOU CAN TELL A GELDING BUT ASK A MARE - having had both a gelding & mare who are problem loaders we now swear by Richard Maxwell techniques using pressure & release together with all his groundwork being the key to most "braces" a horse will throw at you. We found our gelding was genuinely scared of travelling due we assume to trip over from Ireland, with the mare we believe she decided that shed just prefer to stay at home & eat grass rather than go out to work!! Good luck & stay safe.
 
I think it wise to avoid confrontation if you can. For mine (who had only every travelled once to move from Ireland when I got her), it was about baby steps and letting her choose. Lots of scratches and praise when she moved in the right direction. First time was a plant and attempt to go back. I put pressure on when she tried to go back (or sideways), but just let her stand and observe while she was planted. Then, after a few minutes (which felt like an eternity!) I asked her to walk on, and gave lots of praise when she did. We had lots of breaks in our first few attempts, but slowly the pauses got shorter and shorter, and she now marches on. I just know that if I had ever been 'helped' or had tried to force in any way, I'd still be having problems now.
 
Thanks for all your comments, I'm just going to give her loads of time to make her own mind up. she's a super mare and I think she's just a little anxious about travelling which is fine as she's taken everything else in her stride. Clipped today including full head and ears, stood like a rock, what a star!
 
Interesting to read the comments. I have 2 geldings both are sticky loaders.. one now loads quite well but always rears then walks in. My welsh D is a typical bardgy idiot even with his dually on, he USE to load perfect (I could let go and he'd walk in himself!) until he watched a few bad loaders out and about and learnt how strong he is. He'll either walk straight in or plant or stand on his back legs trying to drag me around. If I flash a apple in front of his face he does 9/10 run straight in the box. Thing is he doesn't sweat, is super chilled in the box so do think its a bad habit. I tried the loading every day thing, feeding in there, it just doesn't stick with him.. so may try a few of these comments! I will say with both of mine you can't tell them to do anything specially loading, it has to be their decision, took 3 years to get my other cob loading now down to only one rear. Lol!
 
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